Malaysian rights panel flooded with plaints
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: Malaysia's newly created Human Rights Commission has
been flooded by complaints of violations and abuse in its first month of
operation, the commission's chairman said on Monday.
At least 106 letters had poured in until last week, most with complaints
about how authorities had prevented political rallies, chairman Musa Hitam
said. "We listen to this list of complaints and we have taken note of it,"
Musa told reporters after a meeting with independent rights groups who were
among the first to file complaints to test how far the government-appointed
commission would go in addressing rights abuses in the Southeast Asian
nation.
But Musa, a former Malaysian deputy prime minister, warned that the
commission had no powers to punish offenders. "We are not an enforcement
agency. We can only make recommendations," he said. The 13-member panel of
judges, politicians, academics and representatives from non-governmental
groups began work in April, amid growing international criticism of
Malaysia's treatment of political dissidents and its curbs on press freedom.
The commission's roster, approved by the King, has been criticised for
excluding many activists who have accused the Mahathir Mohamad government of
crushing civil liberties. The country's judiciary, the police force and
government departments have come under fire by rights groups for not
investigating allegations of abuse.
Critics, meanwhile, have accused the government of keeping a tight rein over
the commission by not giving it powers to suggest punishment and not
guaranteeing seats for independent rights groups. On Monday, Musa said the
commission had held "a cordial exchange of ideas" with 12 leading rights
activists.
"We were not embracing each other. They did pressure us, but it was in the
spirit of cooperation," said Musa, who was chairman of the UN Human Rights
Commission in 1995. The activists, representing 31 local rights groups, also
submitted a memorandum to the commission, demanding that it establish itself
as "genuinely bold, independent and effective".
"It is essential that its jurisdiction and power are not effectively reduced
or curtailed by existing law," the groups said. (AP)
For reprint rights: Times Syndication Service
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